South Africa - Culture

Social Conventions

Shaking hands is the most common greeting in South Africa, however, it is advisable to wait to see if women initiate handshakes. Every day affairs call for very casual attire, but certain evening occasions may call for dinner jackets and black tie for men and formal dresses for women. One should never point at someone with their thumb between their fore finger and second finger as this gesture is considered obscene. South Africa is very multicultural and so each ethnic or cultural group has their own customs and traditions that should be respected.

Language

There are eleven official languages in South Africa: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, Siswati, Tshivenda and Xitsonga.

Religion

Almost 80% of the population follows Christian religions (including Catholicism, Anglicanism, Dutch Reformed or African Independent Churches). Hindu, Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist populations are also represented, while some people follow traditional African beliefs.

South Africa Travel Information

At Goway we believe that a well-informed traveller is a safer traveller. With this in mind, we have compiled an easy to navigate travel information section dedicated to South Africa.